Synopses & Reviews
Life in the Fast Lane: The author on the CHE
Uppers. Crank. Bennies. Dexies. Greenies. Black Beauties. Purple Hearts. Crystal. Ice. And, of course, Speed. Whatever their street names at the moment, amphetamines have been an insistent force in American life since they were marketed as the original antidepressants in the 1930s. On Speed tells the remarkable story of their rise, their fall, and their surprising resurgence. Along the way, it discusses the influence of pharmaceutical marketing on medicine, the evolving scientific understanding of how the human brain works, the role of drugs in maintaining the social order, and the centrality of pills in American life. Above all, however, this is a highly readable biography of a very popular drug. And it is a riveting story.
Incorporating extensive new research, On Speed describes the ups and downs (fittingly, there are mostly ups) in the history of amphetamines, and their remarkable pervasiveness. For example, at the same time that amphetamines were becoming part of the diet of many GIs in World War II, an amphetamine-abusing counterculture began to flourish among civilians. In the 1950s, psychiatrists and family doctors alike prescribed amphetamines for a wide variety of ailments, from mental disorders to obesity to emotional distress. By the late 1960s, speed had become a fixture in everyday life: up to ten percent of Americans were thought to be using amphetamines at least occasionally.
Although their use was regulated in the 1970s, it didn't take long for amphetamines to make a major comeback, with the discovery of Attention Deficit Disorder and the role that one drug in the amphetamine familyRitalincould play in treating it. Todays most popular diet-assistance drugs differ little from the diet pills of years gone by, still speed at their core. And some of our most popular recreational drugsincluding the "mellow" drug, Ecstasyare also amphetamines. Whether we want to admit it or not, writes Rasmussen, were still a nation on speed.
Review
"Rasmussen blends science, medical history, and social history with fresh archival research. He fills the narrative with telling details and cultural insights. . . . This is a superb book."
-Journal of American History,
Review
"Brilliant."
- The Guardian
Review
"On Speed, a fascinating history of the use and abuse of amphetamines, is full of hair-raising detail. . . . Even more compelling than the historical perspective—which allows for visits to Harlem Jazz clubs, the haunts of Greenwich Village beatniks and Andy Warhol's Factory—is Mr. Rasmussen's withering survey of the current scene, with speed, in the form of Ritalin and Adderall, prescribed to millions of American children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and millions more using it recreationally. Add a dash of theorizing about the medicalization of social problems, and you have a book that is, well, addictive."
-Adam Begley (aka Begley the Bookie),The New York Observer
Review
"Fascinating and thoroughly researched. . . . The history of amphetamines over the past 70 years shows the iron fisted grasp the drug industry has had and continues to have over the medical industry."
-British Medical Journal,
Review
"It's hard to believe that amphetamine, a drug of questionable medical utility and extreme addiction hazard, was once considered among the 20th century's pharmaceutical triumphs, on a par with penicillin and insulin. How it attained and lost that status is the subject of this perceptive book."
-Washington Post Book World,
Review
"Rasmussen blends science, medical history, and social history with fresh archival research. He fills the narrative with telling details and cultural insights. . . . This is a superb book."
- Journal of American History
"Brilliant."
- The Guardian
"On Speed, a fascinating history of the use and abuse of amphetamines, is full of hair-raising detail. . . . Even more compelling than the historical perspectivewhich allows for visits to Harlem Jazz clubs, the haunts of Greenwich Village beatniks and Andy Warhol's Factoryis Mr. Rasmussen's withering survey of the current scene, with speed, in the form of Ritalin and Adderall, prescribed to millions of American children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and millions more using it recreationally. Add a dash of theorizing about the medicalization of social problems, and you have a book that is, well, addictive."
- Adam Begley (aka Begley the Bookie), The New York Observer
"Fascinating and thoroughly researched. . . . The history of amphetamines over the past 70 years shows the iron fisted grasp the drug industry has had and continues to have over the medical industry."
- British Medical Journal
"It's hard to believe that amphetamine, a drug of questionable medical utility and extreme addiction hazard, was once considered among the 20th century's pharmaceutical triumphs, on a par with penicillin and insulin. How it attained and lost that status is the subject of this perceptive book."
- Washington Post Book World
Review
"
is a significant contribution to the field and should enjoy a broad readership; it will remain in the definitive history of amphetamines in America for years to come." "Rasmussen has made a significant contribution by mining many heretofore unused archival sources and large ranges of the scientific and medical literature and presenting through analysis and easily understood history of amphetamines and their society to date." "[A] wonderful book that should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of drug use in the United States." "Nicolas Rasmussen's On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine provides an intriguing and highly readable perspective on the drug and its history... the book is an important piece of scholarship. It is thoroughly researched and engagingly written and should find a wide audience among historians and mental health professionals. On Speed is a groundbreaking study, a fascinating story, and, above all, a timely and thought-provoking call to reflect on the current-day use of psychotropic medication." "Rasmussen blends science, medical history, and social history with fresh archival research. He fills the narrative with telling details and cultural insights. . . . This is a superb book."
Review
"Brilliant."
-The Guardian,
Synopsis
Life in the Fast Lane: The author on the CHE
Uppers. Crank. Bennies. Dexies. Greenies. Black Beauties. Purple Hearts. Crystal. Ice. And, of course, Speed. Whatever their street names at the moment, amphetamines have been an insistent force in American life since they were marketed as the original antidepressants in the 1930s. On Speed tells the remarkable story of their rise, their fall, and their surprising resurgence. Along the way, it discusses the influence of pharmaceutical marketing on medicine, the evolving scientific understanding of how the human brain works, the role of drugs in maintaining the social order, and the centrality of pills in American life. Above all, however, this is a highly readable biography of a very popular drug. And it is a riveting story.
Incorporating extensive new research, On Speed describes the ups and downs (fittingly, there are mostly ups) in the history of amphetamines, and their remarkable pervasiveness. For example, at the same time that amphetamines were becoming part of the diet of many GIs in World War II, an amphetamine-abusing counterculture began to flourish among civilians. In the 1950s, psychiatrists and family doctors alike prescribed amphetamines for a wide variety of ailments, from mental disorders to obesity to emotional distress. By the late 1960s, speed had become a fixture in everyday life: up to ten percent of Americans were thought to be using amphetamines at least occasionally.
Although their use was regulated in the 1970s, it didn't take long for amphetamines to make a major comeback, with the discovery of Attention Deficit Disorder and the role that one drug in the amphetamine family Ritalin could play in treating it. Today s most popular diet-assistance drugs differ little from the diet pills of years gone by, still speed at their core. And some of our most popular recreational drugs including the "mellow" drug, Ecstasy are also amphetamines. Whether we want to admit it or not, writes Rasmussen, we re still a nation on speed.
"
Synopsis
An extensively researched account of the ups and downs in the history of uppers
Uppers. Crank. Bennies. Dexies. Greenies. Black Beauties. Purple Hearts. Crystal. Ice. And, of course, Speed. Whatever their street names at the moment, amphetamines have been an insistent force in American life since they were marketed as the original antidepressants in the 1930s. On Speed tells the remarkable story of their rise, their fall, and their surprising resurgence. Along the way, it discusses the influence of pharmaceutical marketing on medicine, the evolving scientific understanding of how the human brain works, the role of drugs in maintaining the social order, and the centrality of pills in American life. Above all, however, this is a highly readable biography of a very popular drug. And it is a riveting story.
Incorporating extensive new research, On Speed describes the ups and downs (fittingly, there are mostly ups) in the history of amphetamines, and their remarkable pervasiveness. For example, at the same time that amphetamines were becoming part of the diet of many GIs in World War II, an amphetamine-abusing counterculture began to flourish among civilians. In the 1950s, psychiatrists and family doctors alike prescribed amphetamines for a wide variety of ailments, from mental disorders to obesity to emotional distress. By the late 1960s, speed had become a fixture in everyday life: up to ten percent of Americans were thought to be using amphetamines at least occasionally.
Although their use was regulated in the 1970s, it didn't take long for amphetamines to make a major comeback, with the discovery of Attention Deficit Disorder and the role that one drug in the amphetamine family--Ritalin--could play in treating it. Today's most popular diet-assistance drugs differ little from the diet pills of years gone by, still speed at their core. And some of our most popular recreational drugs--including the mellow drug, Ecstasy--are also amphetamines. Whether we want to admit it or not, writes Rasmussen, we're still a nation on speed.
Synopsis
Violence has become a ubiquitous phenomenon in our world. Occurring daily across the globe, violence is sparked by diverse and complicated societal and political factors. While certain aspects of violence such as terrorism have received increasing scrutiny in recent years, violence has rarely been examined as a political phenomenon in and of itself.
Emphasizing the importance of memory, narrative, and political solidarity, The Legitimization of Violence enlists illuminating case studies for comparison, within a general framework of discourse theory. Not merely a description of events, the book explores how violence evolves and takes on a life of its own, thereby enhancing our fundamental understanding of the phenomenon of political violence itself.
Violence, nationalism, and politics are inextricably linked in such controversial political movements as Neo-Nazism in contemporary Germany and the Shi'ia in Lebanon. By analyzing the diverse factors which lead to violent acts, the essays in this volume address the complexity and the correlations between politics and violence. International scholars assess such groups as the Shining Path in Peru and the E.T.A. in Spain's Basque country to reveal how political violence affects the chaotic living condition of millions of people worldwide.
About the Author
David E. Apter is the Henry J. Heinz Professor of Comparative Political and Social Development at Yale University and the Director of the Program for Comparative Development at the Center for Area and International Studies at Yale. He also serves as the Director of the Legitimization of Violence Project of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva.